Surprising news today from Norwegian Cruise Line in a letter to guests that most cruises onboard Norwegian Sky have been canceled for next year. The vessel had been scheduled to sail voyages in the Bahamas and Caribbean.
Although there are no specific reasons given for the cancelation of voyages, a company spokesperson did mention the vessel’s redeployment. This would mean that the ship will be sailing in different parts of the world than initially intended.
Norwegian Sky 2023 Sailings Canceled
Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled all voyages onboard Norwegian Sky between May 29 through December 29, 2023. Norwegian announced the cancelation in a letter to guests on February 10.
Katty Byrd, the Senior Vice President for Guest Services for Norwegian Cruise Line, said in the letter:
“We have important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Norwegian Sky. As a result of ship redeployment, all Norwegian Sky sailings from May 29, 2023, through and including December 29, 2023, have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”
However, that’s not all; the cruise line adds more dates for cancelations in a further notice sent to travel advisors.
“As you know, one of the pillars of our philosophy includes our investment in the guest experience. To continue focusing on delivering the absolute best vacation to prioritize the guest experience, we have had to modify and cancel the sailings listed below aboard Norwegian Sky.”
These dates include cancellations for cruises between December 30, 2022, through February 13, 2023, and cruises between February 20, 2023, and April 14, 2023.
This leaves one week of sailings between February 13 and February 20 and roughly six weeks between April 14 and May 29.
Guests Offered Full Refunds
All guests that had been booked on board one of the affected sailings will be receiving a full refund of all monies paid towards the cruise. This will be paid towards the original form of payment.
Guests will also be receiving a 10% discount in the form of a future cruise credit as a gesture of appreciation for guests’ loyalty and eagerness to return to sail. This credit can be used for up to one year from the date of issue and can be applied towards any of Norwegian Cruise Line’s currently published sailings through December 31, 2023.
While it is not uncommon for a cruise line to rethink an itinerary for a vessel, it does not often happen that cruises onboard a ship are canceled for an entire year. It would lead to the conclusion that Norwegian Cruise Line is perhaps planning a whole new itinerary for Norwegian Sky.
Perhaps it could signal a return to Cuba. Norwegian Sky was the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship to sail to Cuba in 2017. It was an itinerary that proved popular and profitable for the Miami-based cruise line in the two years it operated the voyages until 2019 onboard Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun.
Norwegian Sky has just completed her dry dock in Brest, France, and is currently making her way to the United States. On March 2, 2022, Norwegian Sky will be sailing to the Eastern Caribbean from Miami, on a series of Bahamas and Key West cruises ranging in length from 3- to 5-days.
